—Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Adri Sietstra Ben Fox, owner of Underground Ink Tattoo, is pictured above at his shop on Des Moines Street. Fox opened up shop in February and will be having a grand opening Saturday.

Art comes in a variety of forms. Sculpture, painting, photography and more. In the case of one Webster City man, it’s found in ink. Ben Fox, owner of Underground Ink Tattoo, opened up shop in town in February.

“My forte is tattooing,” Fox said. “I like to do high-quality work and fair prices.”

Underground Ink Tattoo offers tattoo art and airbrush painting. The shop is located at 817 Des Moines St. and is open from 5 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday.

Fox, 32, grew up in Webster City. He and his wife, Amanda, and two daughters returned to the area recently. Amanda works for the HR franchise in Webster City.

“Webster City is starting to expand with VeroBlue and Prestage Farms,” said Fox. “I was looking into properties and thought small town would be fun.”

Fox first started looking at the space a year ago. He closed on the building late last fall.

Fox honed his first tattoo after watching his mother, who formerly owned a tattoo shop in Webster City in the 90’s.

“My mom was a tattoo artist when I was a kid, so I’ve been around it my whole life,” Fox said. “I just decided to go with it.”

Fox gave himself his first tattoo when he was 13 years old. He inscribed his initials on the inside of his left ankle. He also explained that he used one of his legs for practice as he explored his style and method of tattooing.

“Whenever she was out of town I would use her stuff and it just kind of escalated from there,” he said.

Fox got his first “big” tattoo when he was 17. One of his friends completed the work for him.

After Fox turned 18, he went to professionals for the rest of the artwork that now covers both arms, parts of his legs, hands and chest. He estimates 80 to 100 hours worth of tattoos on his body and has plans to get more.

“I’ve got a lot of nice tattoos to show for it,” Fox said.

Fox described some of his most meaningful tattoos.

“I’ve got my kids’ initials, my initials, 515 because that’s central Iowa zip code, and older style tattoos,” Fox said. “I like the older style tattoos because they never gets old. It’s kind of timeless.”

“I learned from my mom and I learned from a bunch of other artists in Iowa, Texas and everywhere,” said Fox.

Fox is excited to be the only tattoo shop in Webster City.

“In a big town, there’s a tattoo shop on every block,” Fox said.

Fox waited until he had closed on the building and was finished with remodeling before spreading word about his new business in town. He was hesitant at first to open up shop because he didn’t know how the community would react to the business.

“The city has been really cool with it,” said Fox. “You know, tattoos aren’t really looked down upon anymore it seems like.”

“Everyone in town has been real nice and welcoming,” Fox said.

Fox has already had nearly 50 clients walk through the doors. Some for multiple visits.

“I’ve had a lot of people who already knew about me opening so they wanted in,” Fox said. “I’ve also met a lot of new people, so that’s cool.”

To make a consultation, individuals can call the shop at (515) 832-9952 or visit undergroundink.com. Individuals can also email undergroundinkia@gmail.com.

Underground Ink Tattoo will be having their grand opening on Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. during JunqueFest. The public is welcome to stop on by the shop and meet with Fox and check out the business. The East End Boys will be playing at 5 p.m. There will also be an air brush tattoo artist, Tarot card reading and door prizes.

Fox encourages the community to come out and see what he has to offer.

“It’s a nice, clean, sterile and friendly environment,” said Fox. “Anyone is welcome to come in, whether you would like to be tattooed or not.”